Swedish Trade Mission Event in Collaboration with Polyglot Group & Connect San Diego

The event will be held at

Catherine MooreGeneral Manager US, Polyglot Group

Catherine is an innovation & technology evangelist as well as a solutions designer who thrives on helping people and businesses globally create, grow and expand. A global citizen, she started her career in France before moving to California, where she has spent the last 20 years working in executive roles with high-tech start-ups as well as Fortune 500 companies. Based mainly in the Silicon Valley & San Diego, Catherine has created impactful solutions for many companies, including Right Management, Kyriba, TangoMe, Nokia, Applied Materials and Cellon, to name a few. Seeing a niche in the market, Catherine also created her own consulting practice,Bridge2Tek, helping foreign hi-tech companies settle and grow in San Diego. Her love of innovation also saw her pioneer one of the first HR and Innovation conferences in the Silicon Valley in 2008. Having now joined Polyglot Group as General Manager for the US, Catherine is bringing her extensive HR experience to launch it into the US. As a former HR executive and business leader, Catherine has managed both hands-on and strategic HR across Europe, Asia, Africa and America and understands what it takes to run a business in a fast pace environment. A big believer in giving back, Catherine volunteers to coach early stage tech start-up leaders on business operations in her spare time. She also assists the US Special Operations Forces with the Honor Foundation an serves on the board of the San Diego chapter of Women In Technology International (WITI) and Global HRCommittee at NCHRA (Northern California HR Association).

Steve Hoey is Vice President of CONNECT’s Springboard Accelerator Program and Innovation Research in SanDiego. He oversees the Springboard entrepreneur mentoring program for tech and life sciences companies, aswell as heading up CONNECT’s research on the innovation economy in San Diego and California. Steve alsoconducts Springboard management training programs and regional innovation ecosystem assessments as anexternal consulting service for CONNECT. He has created regional innovation economy assessments for SanDiego, Riverside County and the State of Hawaii. He represents CONNECT as a partner of the San DiegoRegional Energy Innovation Network (SD-REIN) and the San Diego Innovation Council. He is a member of theCalifornia State University San Marcos-College of Science and Mathematics Advisory Council, the San DiegoResearch Council, and is secretary of the board of Villa Musica in San Diego. Prior to joining CONNECT, Steveserved as a senior engagement manager for Oliver Wyman in the company’s New York City and London offices.While at Oliver Wyman, he specialized in the financial services industry strategy practice working with globalinvestment, commercial private banking and insurance and asset management institutions. Steve received his BAdegree magna cum laude from Harvard University, M.Phil degree from Oxford University while a MarshallScholar in the UK, MFA degree from California Institute of the Arts and Ph.D. from University of California atSan Diego.

Sean is highly motivated to make the world a better place and constantly thrives on new experiences and learning from others. He has three simple mantras in life and in business: Don’t talk about it, be about it; Always look forward and up; and Water your Garden. Since 2013, Sean has served as business development manager for IES – driving strong sales growth through new client acquisition with a relentless focus on win/win partnerships. Sean has developed relationships with a number of key industry partners and has led the way in brand development as IES’ face in the San Diego HR community.

Prior to IES, Sean held a variety of sales-focused roles across multiple industries, specializing in a consultative sales approach. Experience in several industries has given him a wealth of unique experiences and a deep understanding into multiple industry verticals. Sean has earned his CCWP accreditation from Staffing Industry Analysts and was also recognized as a top millennial in the staffing industry by Staffing Industry Review Magazine. Sean is currently vice chair for the ASA Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. Currently, Sean serves as director of membership for the San Diego Human Resources Forum and is also the chair of the IES Cares program for community outreach, coordinating a dedicated team of volunteer advocates in partnering with local San Diego non-profits like the San Diego Humane Society, San Diego Food Bank and Junior Achievement of San Diego County. Behind Sean’s leadership the IES employee team volunteered more than 800 hours in 2016 across six non-profit organizations with an employee base of only 27 people.

Teodora D. PurcellSenior Attorney at Tafapolsky & Smith, LLP

Teodora has experience in all facets of immigration law and is a Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law, certified by the State Bar of California. She counsels clients on global mobility and business immigration issues and represents companies in a broad array of industries with a focus on the life sciences, biotechnology and IT sectors. Teodora also advises corporate and individual clients on immigration compliance, immigration consequences of mergers and acquisitions, devises strategies for bringing and retaining foreign talent to the U.S. She represents individuals in various family immigration and citizenship matters.

Teodora obtained her LLM in Comparative Law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law and her JD and LLM degrees from the Sofia University in Bulgaria where she is also licensed to practice law. Teodora is dedicated to pro bono work and is a recipient of the Casa Cornelia Distinguished Lawyer of the Year “La Mancha” 2015 Award, the Wiley Bar Pro Bono Award of the State Bar of California (2002, 2014, 2015, 2016). She has served the legal community also as Chair of the Immigration Law Section at the San Diego County Bar Association, an Executive Committee member of the American Immigration Lawyer Association (AILA) San Diego Chapter and it Liaison committees, has been active in several Lawyers Club and BIOCOM committees.

In recognition of her in depth immigration knowledge and the impact of her work, Teodora is a recipient of many professional accolades, among which Super Lawyers List, Immigration Law (2017 and 2016), KPBS Local Hero Award (2016), and San Diego Daily Transcript’s Top Attorney List in Immigration Law (2014, 2015). She is a faculty member of the UCSD ABA approved paralegal program where she teaches an Immigration Law class and is a frequently invited speaker on US and global immigration topics

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The Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in San Diego is a thriving network of companies and individuals interested in the commercial and social exchange between Sweden and the Southern California’s San Diego region.﻿